Police Commissioner Batts is a candidate for on-the-job training

In your article about the recent shake-up in the police department Commissioner Anthony Batts was quoted as saying: "When I got here, a lot of these people, I did not know their strengths, their weaknesses, their capabilities" ("18 Commanders promoted, other changes made as some on council voice concern," July 10).

If Mr. Batts was so lacking in knowledge of the commanders of the Baltimore City Police Department, why did he decide to take the job? How much knowledge did he have of the Baltimore, and why did Baltimore hire a person who knew so little about the commanders of the city police department?